Future Yellow Roses

The latest Craft Book Club book is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I read the book last month, but didn't decide what to make until last weekend even though I was likely going to do this all along. My Craft Book Club project is rose propagation via cuttings! I decided on roses because the Little Prince has a lovely rose on his planet that no other flower can compare to because it is his rose. Also, because last year I tried to make baby plants from these lovely yellow roses that live by a canal I pass on my way to work, they did start to grow, but then the summer heat hit and I neglected them and they dried up and died, so I'm trying again indoors this time and at cooler temperatures.

Here is a little tutorial of how I prepared my rose cuttings. To start, I removed the thorns and leaves from the new growth branches I cut from the rose bush then cut them into 8-10" sections (I made sure there were several nodes on each of my sections). Using a sharp blade I removed some of the bark at the bottom of the branch sections to help them take up water.

Next I prepared my pots with soil (I used basic potting soil) and got out two cups, one I filled with water, the other I added some plant rooting hormones. I then dipped the barkless end of each of the branches into the water then into the rooting hormones and shoved them into my soil filled pots. After all the branches were in a pot, I gave them a bit of water and am now waiting for them to start growing leaves. 

Fingers crossed most of these rose cuttings make it; I really want to have a beautiful yellow rose bush to admire!

Our next Craft Book Club book is The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. I had been watching Penny Dreadful and realized I have only read a few of the stories characters are based on (Frankenstein and Dracula) so I figure I need to read more and Dorian Gray is up first. I will be making (painting?) a self portrait as my Craft Book Club craft and I encourage each of you to do the same!